The Kids Are Alright
by The Night Lord
Summary: Connor is dragged into a major crisis that he won't be able to handle on his own, so he ends up enlisting some multi-universal help. If they don't kill each other first
1. Chaos in the Hyperion

AN: Just a short, fun little thing I came up with, somewhat inspired by the Angel Yearbook. Premise is that Connor (from Poster Girl) has a big problem on his hands and decides to get some help and ends up receiving it from other universes. Read, enjoy and review.

**-XXXXX-**

"Oh, this is a nightmare," Connor moaned, "This isn't happening to me."

He peeked out from behind his hands, hoping that it really was a nightmare, but all it did was confirm for him that what was happening before him was actually real. Even pinching his own arm made the confirmation more concrete and he mentally groaned. There was no way he was even prepared for something like this, but now he had no choice. This situation needed urgent attention of the highest importance and he was the only one around who could do anything about it. He hoped. Even the horrors of Quor-toth couldn't compare to what he was facing right now.

"Will you be my Valentine?" a five-year-old Angel asked shyly, holding up a rose.

Five-year-old Cordelia Chase-Angel gave the young vampire a beaming, 100-megawatt smile and accepted the rose, which caused Angel to smile even more shyly. He could have been sporting an immense blush, except that he was still a vampire and it wouldn't show unless he had fed recently.

"Hey, you big meanie, stop it!" five-year-old Spike shouted, "Stupid git!"

Five-year-old Charles Gunn chuckled as he mashed the buttons on his controller, kicking the blonde vampire's butt in their video game (since when did Connor's parents have a gaming console?), while five-year-old Buffy Summers was reclined on the couch behind the two boys, a bored expression on her face. Five-year-olds Wesley and Fred were sitting in the middle of the lobby, hunched over a giant book together (how on earth did Wesley drag that one out of the office?), a five-year-old version of Faith was trying to get into the weapons cabinet (Connor wondered how long that lock was going to last) and there was even a miniature version of Betta George. Connor was concerned about the magic that a young Willow was doing, while the five-year-old Xander was running around, pretending to be a pirate, eye patch and all.

_"How the hell did this happen to me?"_

He had woken up that morning on what seemed like a normal day for him, only to come downstairs and find that not only were his parents now children, but so were the rest of the team and even the Scooby Gang, although Dawn and Ashleigh were nowhere in sight. Now, if Connor could find some way to maintain them all, he could start trying to figure out how he was going to reverse whatever had caused this mess.

"Excuse me," Xander said, "I'm thirsty. You have any soda?"

This was quickly followed by three events, all in swift succession. First, there was a loud bang and a blackened Willow burst into tears. Then, came the crash of the weapons cabinet toppling over and a gleeful Faith attempted to pick up a sword that was way too big for her. And finally, Spike put his foot through the TV, angered over his constant losing to the young vampire hunter.

"Spike, why did you do that for?" Angel cried, "I wanted to watch Smile Time!"

"Don't be such a baby," Spike retorted, "We'll just get another TB."

"How are you going to do that?" Cordelia asked, hands on her hips and adopting a very assertive stance, "You would be as poor as I am rich."

"You can buy it then, bossy boots."

Spike was then crash tackled by Angel and the pair began fighting (more like wrestling), as Connor felt a headache coming on, while Gunn was trying to make a bet on the pair with Buffy (she reluctantly agreed and naturally went with Spike). Seizing hold of his father and uncle, Connor tore them apart, struggling against their attempts to continue their fight, but he was still able to toss Spike into the basement and Angel into his office. Gunn pouted at the loss of his entertainment, while Buffy and Xander were both trying to comfort a crying Willow. Picking her up next, Connor went upstairs to one of the bathrooms, putting her in the shower to wash the soot off her and his next mission was to prevent Faith from hurting anyone. Stealing the sword off her, he ignored her protests and picked her up, but as it turns out, Faith still had her Slayer strength. Connor groaned, his groin throbbing in agony from where Faith had kicked him and the child Slayer laughed at his predicament.

_"Why me?"_ Connor wondered, _"Why does this happen to me?"_

**-XXXXX-**

Night had fallen and the children (former adults) were finally asleep. After literally arm-wrestling Faith into the corner for timeout, Connor had retrieved all the weapons and locked them in the cage downstairs. Unfortunately, that had allowed Spike to escape the basement, break down the office door and continue his wrestling match with Angel. While Connor was busy trying to keep them separated, his (five-year-old) mother had found her make-up and proceeded to use it. Cursing the PTB, Connor took Cordelia upstairs (against her demands) to wash it off, only to find that the bathroom was now flooded, due to Willow joining in on Xander's game of pirates. This was followed by Wesley and Fred accidentally summoning a demon that Connor had to take outside to kill and afterwards, he tossed all the books into the weapons cage.

Stressed and worn out (is this how his mother felt with the two of them?), Connor decided to try and make some kind of dinner, using one of his father's cookbooks and upon discovering Spike's alcohol stash (after confiscating it off Gunn), Connor emptied most of them into the soup he was preparing. While the food did knock out the humans almost instantly (Cordelia wasn't far behind them, despite being half-demon), the food seemed to make the Slayers and vampires worse. Buffy and Faith had somehow managed to get onto the chandelier, while Spike and Angel were playing tag while wearing nothing more than boxers on their heads. So while Connor was struggling to get Buffy and Faith down, Spike had ran into a wall and Angel accidentally fell upon a stash of holy water, burning his sensitive skin (how he found it, Connor would never know). But finally, without further harm, the last four children were retrieved and had fallen asleep, allowing Connor to finally go on patrol.

He was hoping that he would be able to find something that could explain this sudden mess he had found himself in, but he knew he couldn't stay too far from the Hyperion. What happened if one of the children woke up? Especially one of the Slayers or the vampires, since they weren't as affected by the alcohol as the humans were. Connor didn't want to think about it, promising to keep this patrol short. Heading down into an alley, Connor felt the presence of strong magic and immediately went on the defensive, wanting for the immediate attack. It never came and he came out into a small backlot, where the presence of magic was even stronger. Cautiously, he viewed his surroundings, taking in everything, but he still didn't see the attack until too late.

Connor's head was spinning from the blow and he staggered back up onto his feet, only to be struck again and this time, he felt his own blood running down his chin. Acting on instinct, he lashed out with his fist and found himself lying upside down against the opposite wall, unconsciousness threatening to overcome him. He slumped over onto his side, as someone came into his line of vision. She was a young woman, with fiery red hair cropped to her shoulders, green eyes glittering with malicious intent and a brilliant smile that seemed to be mocking him. Oh, and she wasn't exactly dressed appropriately, with her black, tight midriff top and tight leather pants, a pair of stiletto boots and arm sleeves completing the sexy outfit.

"Who the hell are you?" Connor asked thickly around a mouthful of blood.

"The name's Mikaela," she replied, "You must be Connor, Angel's son. How cute."

"Are you the one who's turned my parents into children?"

"Why yes, I am. Pretty amusing really. Have they caused you as much trouble as they have caused me?" Mikaela asked with a smirk.

"What are you talking about?" Connor asked, slowly standing up, "I don't recall my parents ever mentioning someone like you. I know my mother definitely would have."

"Well, perhaps it's because I'm not from your world, from your reality, your universe if that makes sense in your tiny little pea brain."

"Huh?"

Mikaela sighed, "There are many alternate universes out there. I think there's one where the Master was able to take over Sunnydale and later killed Buffy. I came from one of these universes due to your father's interference."

"So, what's your plan then?" Connor asked, "Why are you here?"

"I think you have bigger problems than me right now, like your five-year-old parents? And their friends? Imagine the chaos they could get up to. Best you run home then."

With a laugh and great agility, Mikaela bounded out of the backlot, as Connor wiped the blood from his nose. Whoever this woman was, she was very strong, agile and seemingly very powerful, as she was capable of travelling throughout alternate universes. Both Angel Investigations and the Scoobies were out of commission, which left Connor on his own to stop this new threat…

But, she mentioned having tangled with his father from another reality. Perhaps if he could find access to that universe, then he could receive help from his father. And there was one person he knew who could possibly open a rift between the two universes and allow him to travel to the different reality. Although, there was that slight problem that said person was actually no longer on this realm of existence. With this thought in mind, Connor returned to the Hyperion, where he cleaned himself up, checked on the children (Spike was hanging head-first off the side of the bead and Gunn was sleeping with his mouth open), before going to the basement and searching for the spell he needed (it was quite a large pile he had to go through and he was quite tired), before finally found what he was looking for, praying that it would work.

_"Okay, Lorne, I hope you're able to respond. I'm gonna need your help."_

**-XXXXX-**

AN: For me, this ending seems a little...quick, but that's fine. The story will be serious, but hopefully, I weave in bits of humour, so we'll see how it goes


	2. Childish Insanity

AN: Thanks for the reivew, **sheshe21**, I always love reading them.

**-XXXXX-**

Morning was hell.

It had been nearly three in the morning before Connor dragged himself into bed and he only had at least two hours rest before getting attacked by a hyperactive Spike. After a half-hour shower to wake himself up, Connor headed downstairs into the kitchen…or at least what he thought was the kitchen. It was more like a war zone, with cereal, milk and…blood (Connor prayed that it was pig blood) all over the place.

"Okay, uh, what happened here?" Connor asked, fearing the answer.

"Spike got the Crispy Cheerios that Angel wanted," Faith replied nonchalantly, "So Angel poked him with a knife. Then Spike hit him with a big, metal spoon."

"Okay, so where's Spike now?"

"Buffy is giving him a band-aid."

"Band-aid or bandage?"

"Band-aid," Faith replied, "I think it is a Transfwormers one."

Connor groaned, the headache from last night starting to return.

"So we're out of Crispy Cheerios and I want some," Faith said.

"Have some toast instead - no, actually, don't. You might hurt yourself."

"And there's no bread. You're going to have get some more."

Was there any alcohol left? Perhaps that could help Connor get through the day without any further mishaps. Upon realising that he had used it all last night (to help keep him awake while he researched), Connor took his father's Plymouth down to the corner street convenience store, hoping that none of the children caused any further damage to the hotel and themselves, but his quickest concern was the fact that he had raced downtown in his sleep deprived state wearing only his singlet and boxers.

_"Could this day get any worse?"_

Apparently, it could, evident by the fact that when he returned to the hotel, Connor found Xander gagged and duct-taped to the wall, Spike and Angel instantly the clear culprits (Connor knew the vampires didn't like Xander and the duct tape in their hands was a dead giveaway also) and Gunn was trying to ride poor George like a horse. Fred was currently tinkering around with something that Connor recognised as her decapitation device. Instantly in a panic, he rushed towards her, but she had already triggered it and Xander was free from the wall, although he did faint from his very close brush with death. Connor wasn't far behind the young boy himself, but he was simply relieved there was no deaths and to prevent anything like that happening again, he crushed the device beneath his foot. Unfortunately, that didn't help matters.

"You broke my toy!" Fred cried, bursting into tears.

Connor instantly felt very guilty at making the young Texan cry, big fat tears splattering on the floor as her wails increased to a level that his sensitive hearing was having troubles with. And there was also the problem that he had no idea how to soothe an upset five-year-old, especially when he was the reason she was crying.

"You're such a meanie," Cordelia glared (or at the very least, tried to glare), "How could you break her toy? Say you're sorry. Now!"

Despite her age, Connor still felt some fear towards his mother and after swallowing the thick knot in his throat, he knelt before Fred, who was now sniffling. He had never done this before and suddenly felt very nervous, swallowing hard once again.

"Uh, Fred, look uh, listen, I'm uh, I didn't mean-"

Connor caught the glare his mother was sending him and she even began to tap her foot, a habit she had developed when she was annoyed towards himself or his father. Thankfully, Fred had stopped crying and trained her large, wet brown eyes on him, which made him feel even more guilty. If that was possible. His father would know.

"Fred, I'm sorry I broke your toy," Connor spilled, "And, if you like, I will try and repair it for you. Make as good as new."

"Oh, I don't think you can," Fred said, tears suddenly gone, "You're not smart enough."

Connor blinked in surprise, unable to believe he'd just been called dumb by a five-year-old, but it seemed to satisfy Cordelia and she hurried off after Angel and Spike, intent on stopping them from causing any further chaos with Xander, especially since Spike had voiced his idea of using Xander to improve his throwing accuracy. And Connor knew that balls tossed by vampire strength hurt…a lot. As Fred resumed her tinkering on her 'toy', Connor chased after his father and uncle to save Xander, distracted for a moment by a levitating Willow and pulled her down to the ground, duct-taping her feet to the floor, before resuming his previous course.

And it was only seven thirty in the morning.

**-XXXXX-**

Connor staggered into the alley in Central Southern LA, his body worn from the day's events, especially after Spike and Angel became extremely hyperactive following their lunch (Connor tasted the leftovers, detecting sugar and blamed Faith, knowing it would be her, but she adamantly denied it) and he had spent the rest of the day trying to sort them all out. He would glad once this nightmare was over and he hoped that the ritual he was about to perform could grant him that wish.

Using his own blood to paint the symbols, Connor burnt some candles, waved some kind of leafy branch he bought at an occult store and recited the spell, which had to be done in a singing tone. The only thing that happened was a slight, brief breeze and after another ten minutes, Connor sighed and packed up his stuff, believing he had mucked up singing and turned to leave, only to stop dead in his tracks.

"Miss me, kiddo?" Lorne beamed brightly, arms out wide.

"Uh, I take it Heaven is pretty kind on you," Connor said finally.

Lorne looked down at himself, a proud grin at his loud and colourful outfit. Returning the smile, Connor went to hug him, a little surprised at how much he really missed the demon, considering they never really hung around together much, but his surprise greatly increased when he walked straight through Lorne. Lorne just looked amused.

"Sorry, Angelcakes Junior, this is only an astral projection. I'm still within the Music, singing my…well…music. So, what brings you crooning at my door? And might I add that Angel's terrible singing you have indeed inherited?"

"I need your help. A woman has come in from another universe, turned my parents and their friends into five-year-olds and…I need help."

"Uh, like I said, astral projection and it's not a solid one either," Lorne said, "Also, cupcake, I'm not a fighter, so I don't know how I can help."

"You're the core of the Music, protecting all the multiple universes, including the one she came from. I need to get to that one to get the help of my father who's not a sugar-addicted, hyperactive, vamp-child," Connor said, "You can do that right, open a doorway to another universe? It makes sense-"

"I never thought Angelcakes to be addicted to sugar," Lorne said, "And why not solve this problem on your own? You're capable enough, right?"

"I…she kicked my ass without me even realising it until too late. I can't do this one on my own and that's why I needed an alternate Dad who has defeated her before."

"Connorwings, do you really need your father hovering over your shoulder all the time?" Lorne asked, "Rhetorical, never mind. Point is, sooner or later, something like this is going to happen and you won't have dear old Dad always helping you out."

"What do you suggest I do? Keep trying and get my ass killed?"

"You spend too much time with Gunn. I will help you, kiddo, but let's do things just a little bit differently. You won't get an alternate father to help you, but you will get others. Make your own little team, like Connor Investigations or something like that."

"And do you suggest I should pick for my 'team'?" Connor asked.

"You leave it to me. Being the core of the Music allows me to peek into different realities and view possible potentials. You know there's an alternate reality where the Master has taken over Sunnydale? Unfortunately, both your parents are dead, but so is Buffy…not like that's any better…"

Connor gave Lorne a look and the demon had the decency to chuckle nervously and end his current conversation. Instead, Lorne then emitted a high-pitch note that got louder and clearer as he continued, forcing Connor to cover his ears and a moment later, Lorne was gone, the note echoing before slowly fading away. A breeze had started to pick up, slowly gaining strength and Connor was struggling to stay standing, but just as it quickly as it came, it was gone again. But this was followed by Lorne reappearing, however, he wasn't alone. The girl was young, looking to be around sixteen years old, with long brown hair tied back into a high ponytail, a few bangs hanging over her face and brown eyes looking around in confusion. Then, she saw Connor and a huge, beaming smile broke out on her face, one that Connor was sure he had seen somewhere, but that thought was lost when all the air suddenly left his lungs and he realised that the girl was hugging him. For what reason, he didn't know.

"Oh my God, it is so good to see you again, Connor!" the girl cried.

After a moment, Connor gently broke contact, looking between the girl and Lorne, trying to get a clue from the demon, but he was simply grinning, clearly knowing something that Connor didn't know, so he turned back to the grinning teenager.

"Um, uh, sorry, but do I know you?'

"You should, because hey, it's not like we don't share the same blood-"

Connor sucked in a deep breath, now knowing why the smile was very familiar.

"Ashleigh?"

"Yep," she smiled, "It's your sweet little sister…from the future."

**-XXXXX-**


	3. Multiuniversal Help

**-XXXXX-**

"The Hyperion Hotel in it's full glory," Van Summers smirked, "Cute."

While Lorne had gone far in his search, he hadn't been very expansive in his selection. First off, there was Connor's sister, Ashleigh, from a different future in which the world had been destroyed by a very ancient god, who was killed by his own sister, who in turn was killed by Angel from an earlier timeline. Then, there was a young, blond Slayer named Emily Summers. The eighteen-year-old daughter of Buffy and Spike, she had come from a universe where nearly everyone she knew was dead and Angelus had taken over the world, until Emily had locked him away in Acathla. The other two people Lorne had brought with him were Emily's siblings, which had caused Connor to roll his eyes at the idea of three mini-Spikes all together in the same place. There was Van Summers, twenty-four-year-old son of Buffy and Spike, brought over from a reality where his mother was a vampire and had battled an Old One. The last member of the new 'team' was Elena Pratt, a two-hundred-year-old vampire who was the daughter of Spike and Drusilla. She also had an adoptive mother named Illyria (apparently Fred infected by an Old One) and the universe Elena had come from was two hundred years in the future where there was no magic and only one Slayer.

"Yeah, well, it's home," Connor said, "Now, when you enter, brace yourself for what you're about to see. It's not very…fun."

Van rolled his eyes and followed his sisters inside the hotel, while checking out Ashleigh when her back was turned. However, upon entering the lobby, he was brought up short at the sight of his parents huddled together on the couch, drawing on each other's arms with what looked like permanent markers. Connor groaned, seeing that the drawings had also extended to the walls of the hotel and that Xander, Gunn and Faith had joined in on the act. Fred was still tinkering around with her 'toy' (Connor hoped she never fixed it), Wesley was sitting on the counter, reading a large book, while Angel and Cordelia were found to be in the courtyard, lying on the seat and staring at the stars, so Connor was thankful they weren't up to anything bad…yet.

"Man, this is rich!" Van cried, "They're children!"

"Mom? Dad?" Emily said, taking in the sight of Spike and Buffy.

"Connor, what happened to them?" Ashleigh asked.

"I don't know," Connor admitted, "I just woke up the other day and they already were like this. The person responsible, well she…uh…that's why I need your help."

"What?" Van cried incredulously, "You got beaten by a woman? So that's why we're here to help, because you can't handle a woman and several kids?"

"Excuse me?"

"Hey, we're not here to fight each other," Elena said, her voice calm, "We all came here to help Connor and that's what we're going to do, so stow it, Van."

He rolled his eyes, but didn't say anything, before feeling a tug on his coat. Looking down, Van came face-to-face with his miniature father.

"Who the bloody hell are you?" Spike asked.

"Spike, don't swear," Buffy said, "It's bad manners. Didn't your mummy teach you?"

"What do I say?" Van asked, turning to his sisters, "I can't exactly say I'm his son."

"Who's son?" Spike asked, a quizzical look on his face.

"Hey, Spike, I think Angel ate your Buffalo wings earlier," Connor said, hoping to distract him, even if it was at his father's expense, "Go talk to him about it."

The distraction worked, as Spike raced out into the courtyard and a moment later, there came Angel's cry of pain, which was quickly joined by Spike's cry.

"Okay, so that part's handled," Connor said, "Come, I'll show you to your rooms."

After showing the three siblings to their temporary accommodations (Lorne had told him he only had seventy-two hours to defeat Mikaela before his allies were pulled back to their own realities), Connor showed Ashleigh her room, which had been her room before this event had happened and his sister was removed from the reality (Connor hoped that with Mikaela's death, his sister would return to him).

"Still the same as I remembered it," Ashleigh smiled, "It's good to see you again, Connor. I never thought it would ever happen."

"Don't worry, I never thought I'd see our parents as chaos-causing children," Connor returned his sister's smile, "But if that means I get to see what you're like when you're older, then I'm fine with it…sort of…not really…uh, never mind."

"It's okay, Connor, I get what you mean. For now, let's just get some rest, God knows you need it cause you look like crap, and tomorrow, we'll start the search."

"Yeah, sounds good. Well, good night."

Ashleigh closed the door behind her and Connor sighed to himself, not looking forward to putting the children to bed and there came a good reason why.

"I don't want to go to bed!" Spike shouted, "I'm not tired enough!"

"It's either that or I'm nailing you inside a coffin," Connor threatened.

"Vampires don't sleep in coffins," Angel said, "Dummy."

"If you go to bed, I'll make you a hot chocolate," Connor told Spike, ignoring Angel.

Spike opened his mouth to protest, but then closed it, thinking about Connor's offer.

"Can I have a marshmallow with it too, pwease?"

"As long as you go to bed."

Nodding, Spike hurried upstairs and Connor turned towards the kitchen with a sigh, only to be confronted by Gunn, Xander, Willow and Faith, all with their arms crossed and all looking at him with an expecting look. Connor swallowed.

"Where's our hot chocolate?" Willow asked.

"You lot should be in bed already," Connor said, trying to maintain authority.

"Not until we get hot chocolate as well," Gunn said.

"And I want a marshmallow too," Faith added.

_"Oh brother!"_

While Connor was busy with the making of hot chocolate (he accidentally forgot Faith's marshmallow, something he was _never_ going to do again), young Emily Summers was sitting out in the courtyard, staring at the stars. She had been in the middle of slaying a vampire nest when Lorne appeared to her (she had only heard of him) and asked for her assistance in helping the Connor of a different universe. Emily had agreed, wanting to see Connor and her parents again, so here she was, but this Connor only knew her as a little one-year-old and her parents were currently running around the place as chaotic five-year-olds (Spike far more so than Buffy).

"Room for one more?"

Emily looked over at Elena, who gave her a small smile. Returning the smile, Emily nodded to her half-sister, who joined her on the seat, mimicking Emily's action of holding her knees up to her chest. Tall and brunette, Elena took more after her mother, including the lithe and willowy frame, but she had her father's eyes, a trait she shared with Emily, as well as a scar on the left eyebrow.

"Does any of this feel weird to you?" Emily asked.

"Apart from the fact that our father is a five-year-old brat?" Elena replied, "No, not at all."

Emily caught the smirk on her sister's face and turned back to the skies. It felt weird, being in a world that felt so different from hers and not only that, but the fact that she now had siblings. Having grown up mostly alone in a world dominated by fear and terror, Emily never thought that she would have family members in alternate realities, never thinking that alternate realities even existed until she met Lorne. Sure, Van may currently seem like a jerk and Elena was a two-century-old vampire, but to Emily, they were still family and she hoped that they could be like a family during their time here.

"The air is lighter, the world is more colourful, the place feels much fuller than my world," Elena admitted, "But not really weird. Just…different."

Suddenly, there came a loud crash from within the hotel, immediately followed by Connor's shouting, which was met by Gunn's yelling and then Fred screamed. Elena motioned towards the hotel and Emily nodded, the sisters headed back inside, soon learning that Gunn had shattered a mirror after seeing a rat and Fred had come across a spider in her bed. Connor was near breaking point, so Emily and Elena stepped in, taking care of the two children, while Connor staggered off to his own bed.

**-XXXXX-**

Connor had momentarily forgotten about his new guests, only remembering when he staggered into the kitchen the next morning to find Van there, making himself a coffee. He was wearing his normal clothes, save for his leather coat, as Connor struggled briefly to have his sleep-deprived mind keep up with current events. Once he had done that, he made himself a strong coffee, while Van watched him with amusement.

"There's something different about you. Something that makes you different from the Connor I know in my reality. Apart from the blond hair and tattoos."

"What are you talking about?" Connor frowned, drinking half his coffee.

"Who's your mother in this universe?" Van asked suddenly.

"Uh, Cordelia Chase. Why? Isn't she mine in your world?"

Having turned away to make himself another cup, Connor missed Van biting his own finger in an effort to stop himself blurting out things were vastly different in his universe, especially the story between that world's Connor and Cordelia. Thankfully (perhaps not so much for Connor), Buffy came into the kitchen and Van was momentarily stunned by the sight of his five-year-old mother, the parent he had never gotten to meet which did make him briefly envious of Emily.

"Connor, we have a problem," Buffy announced in her take-command voice.

"Oh what is it now?" Connor moaned, "Spike and Angel are high off cinnamon blood and Xander's being hung from the railings by his ankles?"

"No. It's Willow. She's gone missing."

**-XXXXX-**


	4. Research and Interviews

AN: This one is probably the more serious of all chapters. Oh, and it's also the second-last one.

**-XXXXX-**

Van sat at a demon bar, working his way through his third shot of scotch, while Connor was trying to get information out of a few patrons. Ashleigh had remained behind at the hotel to watch over the children (Van didn't envy her. After all, one of them did put itching powder into his boxers), while Van and Connor hit the bars in search for Willow after being unable to detect her scent. Elena was down in the sewers to rustle some nearby vampire nests and Emily had gone to the other end of town for information from the demon bars in that area.

"No, you hadn't seen her was all you had to say," Connor told the demon.

With a frustrated sigh, he joined Van at the bar, who looked amused at his state, before ordering another shot from the female demonic bartender.

"And you've been such a big help," Connor muttered to Van.

"I've been helping," Van said, "Talking to lovely Rita here."

'Rita' smiled at the elder dhampire, while Connor struggled to keep his face neutral, while his stomach was churning at the sight of the bartender. Sure, he was partially demonic himself, but he had never been attracted to demons, especially one who wasn't as pretty as Rita, but it seemed like Van wasn't fussed about that at all. Sadly.

"Okay and what have you found out?" Connor asked.

"Well, I've been asking about this mysterious woman of yours and Rita told me that several people have confronted her. She's pretty strong and oh yes, she has the ability to alter reality. Lot of potential possibilities if I should run into her."

Connor frowned, "Are you serious? We meant to stop her, not play games with her."

"Look, Broody Junior, I only came here so I could see my mother. Turns out, she's a child, just like Daddy, so maybe this girl who reverse it for me. I don't really care about your problem with her. Your world, your problem, not mine."

"It's your problem too since you're in my world now," Connor said.

Van snorted and took a shot, "Maybe, but do I really care? I'm not here to help you, Angel Brat. Hell, I wish the time was up so I can go back to my world."

"You're here to help even if I have to force you."

"Well then, I guess we have a problem."

With a swinging backhand, Van knocked Connor off the stool, then stood up with a slight grin, as Connor slowly got to his feet while the patrons decided to keep their distance from the two dhampire getting ready to duel.

"This is a bad mistake," Connor growled.

"I know, but that's why they're fun," Van smirked.

**-XXXXX-**

Elena sniffed the air, smelling death and she pressed forward, coming out into a small area where four vampires were currently hanging around. Or at least they were until she showed up, drawing their attention and from one of them, a leering smile.

"Very rare we get a single female our way," said a vampire, "What's your name, girl?"

"Doesn't matter. You won't live long enough to use it," Elena replied, "But, perhaps you could live a little longer if you tell me something I want to know."

"Yeah, what's that?" asked another vampire.

"Any of you seen a five-year-old girl with red hair or you heard of her disappearance. She'd be a special one, capable of using magic."

"Maybe we have, maybe we haven't," said the first vampire, "What's it to you?"

"Well, I'm looking for her and I would really like to find her."

"If we had, we would've eaten her. Very rare to get a child down here. They're so very sweet," grinned another vampire, "And it's not like we'd tell you, so move along."

"I was really hoping to avoid this," Elena said, "Actually, no I wasn't."

In the short, brutal battle that erupted, three of the four vampires had been crippled, while the last one had been forced to his knees, his left arm pulled back and held by Elena, her gold eyes flashing as she pressed her boot hard against his left shoulder, threatening to tear it from the joint at a moment's notice.

"You know something that you're not willing to tell," Elena growled, "So, how about you start talking before I beat you to death with your own arm?"

**-XXXXX-**

Connor staggered back to the bar, blood running down the side of his face, as he downed the shot of whiskey Rita had put out for him, as Van did the same, equally as bloodied and he motioned for another two shots with Connor taking one of them. Save for Rita, the bar was virtually empty due to the pair beating the crap out of each other.

"Gotta admit, you took me by surprise," Van said, "Guess having a different mother helps you have a different style. I'm still not interested in teamwork."

"Neither am I, but I'll do what I have to to save this world," Connor said, "Sure, it may not affect you directly yet, but if this woman destroys my world, yours is next."

"Yeah and when she comes, I'll be ready for her. I'll be able to take her down."

"You won't be able to," Connor said, "She beat me so easily it wasn't funny and if I fight you equally, you won't stand a chance against her. Just listen to me, Van."

"Doesn't this seem so familiar to you?" Van broke in, "Us two arguing over how things done. Something we must have inherited from our fathers."

"Alright, how about this: we put aside our differences, we work with our sisters to solve this dilemma and we all go home at the end of the day. Deal?"

Van hesitated for a moment, considering Connor's words. It didn't sit right with him taking orders from the very first dhampire, given how Van was older, felt he was more experienced in the world and that his universe's Connor usually irritated him. But perhaps this Connor being Cordelia's son might make him more tolerable.

"Fine, I'll work with my sisters then," Van said, "But I still don't like you."

"Don't worry, the feeling's mutual."

**-XXXXX-**

Van was slowly being driven insane.

One of the children (Angel, of all people) had found amusement in bouncing a ball off the back of Van's head while he was trying to research about Mikaela. With patience he hadn't inherited from either of his parents, Van had tried to ignore the child, but after two minutes, he had enough. But when he turned around to growl at Angel, the young vampire was already gone, having taken off with his super-speed.

"Never thought your father could be such a brat," Van muttered to Connor.

"Yeah, well, with _your_ father, it's no surprise," Ashleigh retorted.

Van was about to shoot back a comment, but his hand shot up to catch the ball, as Angel gulped and took off again. Upon returning to the hotel following their fight (and getting yelled at by their respective younger tag-teaming sisters), Van and Connor learnt from Elena (who happily described how she had obtained this information), that Willow had been seen in the presence of a red-haired woman in tight black clothing. From that description, Connor had figured that the woman was Mikaela and had announced some research needed to be done, which he started on after his shower.

"What are you doing?" Buffy asked.

"We're reading, Mo - uh, Buffy," Emily replied, "And - no, don't touch that!"

Too late. Buffy had already grabbed the Slayer scythe with a mad grin on her face, the power of ownership resonating within her, as Emily made a grab for her. However, Buffy darted around her (much older) daughter, only to be grabbed by Van, but the scythe fell into Faith's hands and she gleefully ran across the lobby from Connor.

"Connor, Percy's created a swirly thing," Spike shouted from the second floor.

"Can't you see I'm busy?" Connor growled, trying to capture Faith.

"Okay, but there's a big ugly thing coming through the swirly thing."

"You're such a tatty-tale," Wesley cried.

"Nuh-uh, that's always been you, Pommy," Gunn said, "Member Hold…er…Holt?"

"What kind of big ugly thing is it?" Ashleigh asked, grabbing her twin swords.

"Uh, big and ugly," Spike replied, just as a roar echoed from within a room, "And I think it's kinda hungry. It's got that hungry look."

At that moment, Connor tackled Faith, the scythe clattering from her hand and Buffy reached for it, only for Elena to step around her and grab the weapon, holding it high above her head where the elder Slayer was unable to reach it. Van headed upstairs to assist Ashleigh with the demon, crashes and roars echoing throughout the hotel. Connor locked the scythe away in the basement, as the crashes and roars finally died down, Ashleigh exiting the room with bloody swords, while Van looked amazed.

"Dude, your sister is so hot when she's fighting," he cried to Connor.

"Uh, yeah, great to know. Alright, children, time for bed!"

There immediately was an uproar of protests, despite half of them yawning. Only Xander was indifferent, huddled in the corner and sniffling, upset over the loss of Willow, so Emily took him to bed, while Elena, Connor and even Van put the children to bed, Spike and Faith the most persistent in resisting, until Cordelia and Angel helped out (mainly with the latter crash-tackling Spike and duct-taping him). Ashleigh was putting away the books, until something caught her eye and she grabbed the book for a closer look, a small smile coming to her face and she whirled around to face her weary brother when he came back downstairs to the lobby.

"Connor, I've got it. I know how to defeat Mikaela!"

**-XXXXX-**


	5. The Kids Are Alright

AN: Well, here is the last chapter. The last chapter and to **sheshe21**, thank you for your awesome reviews. For you, here is the finale.

**-XXXXX-**

"Okay, this is it," Connor said, "We gotta move in hard and fast, otherwise-"

"It's the end of the world," Van interrupted, "Kaput, gone, vanished for good."

"A little harsh there, but yeah, that's the general idea."

"So, anyone seen any good movies recently?" Emily asked, moving with the others.

"Em, I don't think right now is the time," Elena suggested.

"What? I'm just trying to bond before the inevitable end of the world."

"The world's not going to end," Connor said, "See what you've done now, Van?"

The elder young man shrugged carelessly as the group reached the tall, circular tower. Large and made entirely of brick, it reminded Connor of one of those castle towers from the Middle Ages. And he wondered since when did Los Angeles have a castle tower. Details aside, this was the place where Mikaela was residing, according to the numerous demons and vampires the group had 'interviewed' in the past few hours. Now with a location and the instrument needed to defeat Mikaela, Connor and his small 'team' decided to go with the now-or-never, smash-and-bash routine (Unsurprisingly, it was Van's idea. Some things never change between generations).

Elena smashed the wooden door off its hinges with a single kick and the group filed inside, only to be confronted with a large force of demons. However, they weren't able to stand up to the combined force of Connor, Van, Emily, Ashleigh and Elena, as they easily tore the demons apart. Ashleigh was like a whirlwind with her swords, caking the floor in blood, while Van teamed up with his older sister, using their brute strength, as Emily wielded the scythe with practised skill, with Connor taking the lead, showing off his abilities as he took down demons with ease.

"Thank you!" Van cried, taking a sword after killing it's previous owner.

"Where would Mikaela be?" Emily asked, staking a vampire.

"Top of the tower," Elena replied, "That's where the bad guys always wait."

"Figured as much," Connor said, "Ashleigh! Ash? Ash!"

"Con-con," two-year-old Ashleigh babbled happily.

"Oh bollocks," Van said upon seeing her, "Baby on the loose!"

A demon reared up behind Ashleigh as she clapped towards her brother, who leapt over her to shoulder-barge the demon away and when he looked up, Ashleigh had returned to her sixteen-year-old self, momentarily confused as to what had happened.

"She's a reality-alterer," Van said, "We've got to get to her fast."

"Elena, take point," Connor ordered, fisting a demon in the jaw.

The vampire nodded at his command and led the way up the stairs, kicking a demon in the head and crushing its skull against the wall, as more demons appeared on the stairs. Van went to back her sister up, but her human strength was no match for one of the demons who belted her down the stairs into Emily. With a growl, Van got to his feet, thankful that he was no longer a human female and he leapt back into the battle, using his newfound strength to kill the demon who had struck him.

"There she is," Ashleigh called, "There's Mikaela!"

"And she's got Willow," Emily added, "In a bouncy ball?"

Willow was smiling as she bounced along in her surrounding bubble of magic, heading into a room and followed by Mikaela, who gave the group a wave, before slamming the door shut behind her. Connor and the others went to follow, but numerous demons appeared on the scene and a fight swiftly broke out, with more demons replacing the those that had fallen, but Connor knew they were wasting time. He had to get into that room and stop Mikaela from whatever it was she was planning to do.

"Ash, Emily and Elena, hold the fort!" Connor called, "Van, you're with me!"

The girls all struck at once, creating a brief path to allow the male dhampires through and Connor busted the door open, Van swiftly following him and moving to Willow, who was no longer within her bubble. The door slammed shut and Van whirled around, finding himself lying on his shoulders, back against the wall and his legs over his face. Basically, a very uncomfortable position, while Connor was simply slump beside him in an upright position (lucky him).

"You know how much fun it is to play with realities?" Mikaela asked, "I mean, there is such a infinite realm of possibilities. Anything can happen and I mean _anything_."

"That's nice, but you're still a major threat," Connor groaned, getting up.

"Aww, why's that? Honestly, you let me know and I'll put you both in the realities that you want the most. I can tell, see it in your hearts."

"That's a load of bull," Van said, "You can't know what we really want."

"I know you want a life where your mother didn't die to have you," Mikaela cut in, "A life where you could grow up with both your parents. And for you, Connor, you want a life where you didn't grow up in Quor-toth with Holtz."

"No doubt there is some kind of consequences if that were to happen," Connor said.

"Well, there is the fact that your parents split up because your father gets way too protective and it drives Cordelia insane. But on the bright side, your mother doesn't get possessed, Angel doesn't take over Wolfram and Hart, but Los Angeles still goes to a kind of Hell. A fair trade for a life in Los Angeles instead of Quor-toth."

Connor looked over at Van, knowing that all he wanted was to see his mother again.

"As for you, Van, your mother lives, but the world is plunged into darkness. The Scoobies are scattered far and wide, but hey, you've still got your parents."

"Yeah, sounds great, but I'm not interested," Van said, "Sure, you could alter reality, but no matter what, it wouldn't feel right. Things happened for a reason."

"And one of those reasons is that we take you down, here and now," Connor said.

"Try if you want," Mikaela shrugged, "But right now, there's a demon at the Hyperion, terrorising all those little children. Hm, wonder if they're dead yet?"

Connor moved first, followed by Van, as Mikaela easily dodged their attacks, belting them aside with glee, wanting to take her joyful time until she killed the pair and was able to use Willow for her plan to destroy the world. Unfortunately, her arrogance at holding the upper hand got the better for her and in the end, was her downfall, as Van was able to get her into an arm lock, while Connor stabbed her in the heart with a pure silver and enchanted dagger. Mikaela gasped, unable to believe she had been defeated and she fell dead at their feet. Bloody and bruised, Connor and Van took Willow out of the room, finding that all the demons were gone, leaving only their sisters.

"Is it over?" Ashleigh asked.

"Yeah, it's over," Connor replied, "But we've got to get to the hotel and fast."

As it turned out, there was no real rush to get back to the Hyperion, as Connor found the children all unscathed and breathed a sigh of relief. However, there was the fact that there was a demon locked in the cage in the basement, nursing its injuries and Connor learnt that the children had 'played' (beaten the crap out of) with the demon, before all growing bored and locking it away for later. Too tired to argue, Connor and the others put the children to bed, before retreating to their own rooms.

**-XXXXX-**

"It was great to see you," Ashleigh smiled, hugging Connor, "We should do it again."

"Yeah, next crisis that comes along, I'll call you," Connor replied.

It was the next day, the children were still in bed and the next generation were at the centre of the Spheres, where Lorne was waiting to take them all back to their respective universes. Time was up, but the group had spent their last few hours together bonding and to be honest, they were all a touch upset inside at having to part ways. Connor hugged Emily (who had been happy to see her 'mentor' one last time), shook hands with Elena, then came to Van, who cocked an eyebrow at him.

"We are not shaking hands or hugging or anything like that," Van said.

"Wasn't thinking of it," Connor said, "I just can't wait for you to go."

"Good, Junior. I hope we don't meet again."

"Already on my wish list."

They turned away from each other, smiling a little to themselves, as Lorne announced it was time and one by one, took each of them back to their universes. Afterwards, he returned to the Music of the Spheres, as Connor took his time returning to the hotel. Thankfully, upon returning to the Hyperion, Connor had discovered that Mikaela's spell had ended and his parents were now adults once more. Not only that, but his universe's sister became suddenly attached to his leg, hugging him tightly.

"I've got this feeling that something major has happened, but I just can't remember it," Cordelia said, before turning to her husband, "You remember anything?"

"I know I'm itchy, which is normal after contact with holy water," Angel replied, "But I haven't been near any holy water in a while. Connor, what happened lately?"

"Oh, bloody hell, what's with this bloody headache?" Spike moaned.

"With a head like that, it should ache," Gunn shot at him.

"Did we have a drinking session?" Buffy asked, coming out of the kitchen with baby Emily in her arms, "There's bottles everywhere. I hope I didn't go all Cave-Buffy."

"I know Spike was drinking heavily," Connor said, "And I think with everyone else, the monotony of every day just made us think we've forgotten a day or two."

"I'm down with that," Faith agreed, "It has been pretty boring lately. Guys, we've totally gotta do something, you know, fun."

"Fun is a bit of an understatement," Connor muttered, thinking about the past few days and all that chaos that had taken place within a short amount of time.

"Well, I'm going to the basement to clear my head," Angel said, "Maybe that'll help."

All Connor knew that would help him was going back to bed and sleeping for the next few days. Lord knows how much he needed it after the terror he had endured at the hands of his (five-year-old) parents and their friends. However, he was that caught up in his sleep-deprived mind, he didn't register his father's words until too late.

"What the hell is with the demon in the cage? With books and weapons?"

_"Damn,"_ Connor thought, _"Knew I had forgotten something."_

**-XXXXX-**

AN: And that is that. Hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it :)


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